Offshore oil rig jobs are the hot new oil rig jobs for this coming decade, bumping IT and finance from their perch. These are some of the oil rig jobs in the upstream oil industry, where you search for oil and drill for it. Then there is the midstream, where you refine and transport the oil. Finally, there are the down stream oil rig jobs, where you sell and distribute the finished product – offshore oil rig jobs.
Offshore oil rig jobs
Upstream is where both the greatest demand and the greatest competition lies. Most of these jobs are international and require a lot of travel. Employees on offshore oil rigs here often work in Alaska, the Arctic, Canada and the Middle East as offshore oil rig workers. The people on the really sharp end are the geologists who search for oil and the people who support them, doing seismic testing and test drilling. Should you try to get in here? This is a judgment call. If you started a university degree for offshore oil rig worker with the related qualifications 2to 5 years ago, you would be in a very good position to find an oil rig job. Many of the oil rig company staff here would be in their 50s and 60s, some of them recalled from retirement. If you start today, you'll get your degree for oil rig worker in 3 to 5 years time. Demand for a geologist would probably not be as strong. If you have started your geology degree, this is a good time to get the specializations you need to branch into this line of work – offshore oil rig jobs.
A better choice for someone starting out is to get an offshore oil rig job as a roughneck or roustabout. While you are technically a laborer, your salary is better than many managers on oil rigs (unless they work for a tobacco company). Let your high school peers enjoy their better-sounding titles. You get to laugh all the way to the bank. Additionally, if you show the right attitude and skills, you can work your way up the hierarchy from roustabout on offshore oil rigs all the way up to derrickman, driller and oil rig manager – oil rig jobs. Whether or not you make it to oil rig manager, do remember history. Oil prices are eventually going to drop again after about 1 decade. Save some of your salary and use it to build your nest egg. Don't blow all your salary on beer and cigarettes and living the high life. Make sure you can retire when the oil boom ends.
Another good choice is to get a good trade skill like electrician, mechanic, medic or cook on oil rigs. These are some of the support positions also needed on an offshore oil rig. You don't get labeled as a laborer, but you still get a good salary and excellent benefits. For spending six months every year in the middle of nowhere, you get more pay than your peer working on land. It is still a pretty good deal. In addition, when the oil market bubble bursts again, you have your trade skills to get by – offshore oil rig jobs.
Even without the specialized skills of the driller on oil rigs, you can still get an offshore oil rig job. You can work your way up from roustabout, or you can get in through a trade skill in a support position on oil rig jobs.